A Fiery Touch
by slytherinprincess394
Summary: After five years of being in each other's presence, Draco confesses his love to Hermione, and apologizes as well. They are now in their 6th year, and they are in a secret relationship that not even Hermione's best friends know. Does Hermione choose to tell them now, or later? This is my very first fic, guys! Hope you enjoy it!
1. Prologue

Every time Hermione looked at him, she felt something different than what she's ever felt before. His blonde hair, pale grey eyes, just everything, looked perfect to her. But he could never like her back. She was just a filthy Mudblood after all. Hermione sighed as she was walking in the corridors, holding quite a lot of books, heading for the library for some studying.

"Granger!" Hermione recognized that voice. She turned around instantly and saw the blonde hair. It was him… Malfoy. The sound of his name made her chest purr. Her legs weakened, and her books fell to the floor with a _'clash!' __  
_

"Can you be any more clumsy, you filthy little _Mudblood?_" Draco sneered.

Hermione mentally rolled her eyes and began to pick up her books. Draco decided to help her. Hermione was surprised. _'Why is he doing this?'_ Hermione thought to herself. As they both unnoticingly reached for the same book, their hands touched. They looked up, and Hermione saw that Draco had a look of disgust upon his face. They stared into each other's eyes, pale grey into brown, and Draco's face softened a bit.

Draco leaned in, and their lips touched. Hermione froze for a moment. She felt a surging fire in her chest, and she gave in, melting into the kiss. Draco's lips weren't cold, as she expected them to be. They were warm and soft against hers. Her hands started to wander in Draco's blonde, silky hair, clutching at it.

Draco finally broke away from the kiss, his eyes slightly widened, mouth still parted a bit. He was still staring at her intently as Hermione had the same expression on her own face, and her hands fell back down to her sides. She cleared her throat unnecessarily, ran a hand through her own hair, and stood up to pick up the rest of her books. When she picked up the rest of her books, and started to walk away quickly, nervous of what Draco would say next.

Draco snapped out of the aftershock and started to chase after her, calling her name out. He finally caught up, and he put a hand on Hermione's shoulder in an attempt to stop her. She did stop, but she still hadn't turned to face Draco. She just silently listened.

What he said next surprised Hermione.

"Malfoys don't apologize, Hermione, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the way I've treated you in the past 5 years. I've loved you ever since I first saw you. It's been 5 years, Hermione. 5 years... of me loving you, and having to hide it because of the way I was raised." Draco said. With her back still turned against him, Hermione took a sharp intake of breath. He had just confessed his love to her. What should she do now? Hermione put her books down, and turned to Draco slowly, looking at his lips rather than his eyes.

"I-I love you too. But your father, he wouldn't approve…" Hermione said.

"Well, he certainly won't be hearing about this, I'll make sure of that," he whispered as he clashed his lips against Hermione's once more. "Hermione, will you be my girlfriend?" Draco said, breaking off the kiss once again, smiling at Hermione.

"Yes. Yes, Draco. I would love to." Hermione said, smiling back at Draco as he held her hand, staring into her eyes. They finally had to part, as they heard Mrs. Norris paws, knowing that she was searching for any trouble to report to Filch. Hermione picked up her books and hurried to the Library, and Draco headed to Slytherin Dungeons, taking one last look, and smiling to each other softly.


	2. A Quick Talk

***One year later***

It was Hermione's 6th year at Hogwarts, and it was also the year in which they started N.E.W.T classes. Which N.E.W.T classes you were in depended on what your score was on your O.W.L.s test of that class, and what grade sufficed as passing in the teacher's class. The results were owled to every student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who took the owls last term during their summer holidays. Hermione, unsurprisingly, passed all of her O.W.L.S. with O's, but in Defense Against the Dark Arts, in which she got an 'E', which meant 'Exceeds Expectations'. What she didn't know was if the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher sufficed an E as a passing score, since in Hermione's whole school career, there was _always _a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher every new term. The subject was rumored to have been jinxed.

Right now, Hermione was eating her first breakfast of the term with Harry, and Ron, who was currently stuffing eggs and bacon in his mouth.

"What classes do you think you will be in?" asked Ron, a mouthful of eggs in his mouth. "What?" Ron finished chewing his eggs, and gulped it down, after Hermione scolded him once again for talking with his mouth full. _'I can't help that I'm always hungry!_ _Honestly, woman,'_ thought Ron furiously.

"I will certainly not go to Hagrid's class… I mean, we like Hagrid and all, but the only reason we tried in his classroom was because we're friends with him. How do you think he'll react?" Hermione winced a bit, and bit her bottom lip in thought.

"Why, I'm surprised. _The_ Hermione Granger not taking every class possible? Guess little miss know-it-all is finally toning it down." Draco Malfoy's sneering voice came up from behind Hermione. Hermione turned around, to see the pale grey eyes, and the blonde hair that Hermione loved and adored.

Harry and Ron didn't know about Hermione's relationship with Draco. Hermione was afraid of what her best friends would say to her if she told them. '_They're going to find out sooner or later…'_ the little voice in the back of Hermione's head always told her. _'They will know… just not yet.' _Hermione always told herself.

"Shut up, ferret. You're lucky that Professor Moody, or rather, the person who impersonated him, isn't here anymore. How come you suddenly decided to _casually_ show up beside me?" Hermione finished with a sarcastic tone.

"I was just passing by to go to the Slytherin table, when I happened to overhear your conversation." Draco retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Well, now that you've heard it, you can leave now and go tell it to your clan." Hermione remarked. Draco gave her the look he always gave her at dinner for the past year before he walked away. It was the _'I'll meet you in the empty classroom after breakfast.' _ recognized it instantly.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked Hermione, giving her a suspicious, but confused, look right after Draco left to the Slytherin table.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Malfoy was just being the arrogant ferret that he always is, that's all." she stated, lifting a egg-filled fork up to her mouth.

They had finished eating, but they remained where they were, for McGonagall still had to announce what N.E.W.T classes everyone would advance to.

"Hermione Granger. You did excellent in Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Potions. You did fine in Defense Against the Dark Arts, passing it with an Exceeds Expectations. You may proceed to these classes. Here is your schedule." McGonagall handed Hermione her schedule, which had Ancient Runes as her first class, which was starting in roughly 30 minutes. She ran outside of the Great Hall, and turned a left, to an empty classroom. The tables were pushed against the walls, with the chairs above them. It was still a bit dusty, so Hermione coughed after a few minutes of being in the room.

About 10 minutes later, Draco opened the door, and walked in. Hermione closed the old Charms book she was always reading while she waited for Draco every day.

"Learned any new charms, Hermione?" Draco smiled soflty as he lay beside her on a table, with his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

Hermione smiled back.

"Yes, I did. A pretty useless one, actually. It apparently… polishes your shoes..." Hermione squinted her eyes in confusion. She shook her head. "Anyway, Draco, we need to talk..."

Draco's eyes widened for a second before he answered, "About what?" His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Draco, Harry and Ron don't know about this, correct? But it's been way too long… I need to tell them sooner or later about our relationship…" Hermione put her hands in her face and sighed.

Draco sat up and turned to look at Hermione, and sighed.

"Hermione, if you need to tell them, tell them."

"Not today. Not right now. It needs to wait a little longer..." As she said this, Hermione thought about all the insults that would be told to her by her friends and housemates. _'How can you betray us like that?' 'House traitor.' 'You can't be our friend anymore.' _She winced slightly at these thoughts, but Draco didn't notice it.

Draco looked at the old clock at the wall, and his eyes widened.

"We need to go, now. Good luck, 'Mione." Draco smiled, and left the room, with Hermione right behind him.

At the intersection, they both parted, with Draco turning to look at Hermione, to smile at her, before he darted off to his first class.

Hermione smiled, and rushed off to her Ancient Runes class without further ado.


	3. Another Secret Kept

Draco entered the Transfiguration classroom, and sat down in a seat in the farthest corner. He didn't feel like sitting near anyone, or socializing at all, for that matter.

While he was organizing his supplies on his desk, he felt a faint burning sensation in his left forearm. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to bear the pain. Even if it was faint, it still burned. After a few seconds, the burning stopped. Draco took a breath of relief and continued organizing his supplies.

Once it seemed like the whole class was ready, Professor McGonagall asked for attention not long after. She stood in the middle in front of the class. "I see that a lot of you passed your Transfiguration OWL. I'm impressed. You have achieved in being in the NEWTs Transfiguration class. However, even though you are in this class, it doesn't mean that you will get easier work. In fact, you'll get more challenging work, so you'll have to work even harder than you did in this class these past five years." The class groaned in response. McGonagall ignored them, and kept talking. "Now, for the first task…"

As hard as Draco tried, he could not focus on McGonagall. His mind wandered off to different places. _'How am I going to complete the task that Voldemort assigned me? How? I don't want to do it… but I have to. I have to, or else he'll kill me. He'll kill my whole family…' _Draco put his head in his hands and sighed. _'And how would Hermione deal with it if she found out… I have to tell her, too.'_

_'I just don't want to lose her… she's the one keeping me sane in these times…' _Draco's right hand slightly touched his left forearm subconsciously. Draco hated that Dark Mark more than he hated himself at the moment. It was the reason why he even hated himself in the first place.

He was branded with this mark before the beginning of 6th year, signifying that he was now a member of the Death Eaters, the followers of Voldemort. The only reason why he was a member now, at this young age, was to complete a mission. A mission that he didn't want to do, but had to. He had to kill Dumbledore. How he was going to go about this, he didn't know… but he had to do it, or it will result in more deaths.

Again, Draco attempted to pay attention to McGonagall, and he could focus again. Well, slightly focus.

She was still talking, but now she was demonstrating a bird-conjuring charm. A flock of birds were conjured out of nowhere as soon as McGonagall had said the incantation.

"Avis!" She had said.

As the little brown birds flitted around, she talked to the students again. "Now, it's the time for you to practice this skill. You have to concentrate a lot to be able to master this spell."

Not long after, the classroom was filled with voices, saying the incantation. Some yelled it in frustration, much like Ernie Macmillan, who was swishing his wand in frustration as well. Draco looked at him for some type of entertainment for himself, but he couldn't find the humor. He attempted the spell once, but all he could conjure was a single feather.

When class was finished, the only one who mastered the spell was Susan Bones. Three robins were circling around her, signifying her victory in the spell. She was quite proud of herself.

While everyone was walking out of the classroom, Draco stayed behind and took quite a while to put his stuff away. The burning sensation returned in Draco's left forearm, but now it was stronger. He grunted quietly in pain while the pain subsided.

McGonagall peered over her glasses to look at Draco wincing in pain.

"Everything alright, Mr. Malfoy?" she inquired.

Before Draco answered, he took a quick breath, trying to hold in the pain.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'd better get going now."

And with that, he put his things in his bag, and quickly walked out of the classroom.


	4. Embarrassment

**Well, here goes a pretty long chapter! I had quite a lot of fun typing it, so I hope that you guys enjoy reading it! Please, read and review! (But don't feel forced to do so!) **

* * *

Hermione was basked in the dim lights while walking quickly through the corridors. _'Where had the time gone?' _Hermione thought fervently._ 'One minute, I was studying for NEWTs, and the next… it's almost half past the start of dinner time! Where would Harry and Ron think I was? Oh, Merlin…' _

She quickened her steps, and the clunking of her shoes became louder and quicker. As she turned the corner, she was welcomed with a loud cackling laugh and a water balloon being thrown at her feet.

"Look at Hermione Granger, running about," cackled Peeves. "Where are you running late to this time? Hmm?" He smirked. "Not running off to snog your boyfriend, are you?"

Hermione tried not to appear flustered as the thought of Draco ran through her mind. "No! I haven't got time for you right now, Peeves. I have to go to dinner." She definitely did not have time for the school Poltergeist's antics.

Still, Peeves followed behind her, floating on his back in a very relaxed manner. He smirked at her once more. "Where are you off to after that? What does the seemingly goody-two-shoes Granger do after dinner?"

"Go away from me, Peeves!" Hermione stomped away from him.

"Okay, Granger. I'll leave you alone…" Peeves smirked as he dropped a red water balloon on top of Hermione's brunette hair.

The water balloon smashed on her head, which resulted in a very wet Hermione. Her wet clothes stuck to her skin as she bellowed out, "PEEVES!"

Peeves' cackling laugh drifted away and Hermione kept on walking, but more angrily. She had just lost about 10 more minutes of her dinner.

Hermione turned another corner and the Great Hall's entrance loomed into view. The door was already open, so she just walked in. She was hoping for a stealthy entrance without anyone seeing herself dripping in water, but things went the other way around.

The pug-faced Pansy Parkinson had pointed a mocking finger at Hermione, and laughed loudly.

"Granger is wet! Just look at the Mudblood! That water is purer than she is!" she laughed, and the rest of the Slytherin table joined in when they saw Hermione.

Hermione didn't say anything or look up from the ground as she walked to the Gryffindor table and sat down in front of Harry and Ron. Her face was tomato red as she helped herself to a turkey leg.

"Hermione, what took you so long to get here?" asked Ron after he gulped down his food.

"I was studying," she answered softly, "and then I met Peeves along the way…"

"That explains the, uh…" Harry started, only stopping when Hermione gave him a deadly look.

Hermione lifted her eyes up a little past Harry's head to look at Draco, whose pale eyes were already looking at her. He gave her that look again. She was going to see Draco after dinner, it seemed.

Harry interrupted Hermione's thoughts. "What're you looking at?" He turned around, looked, and turned back to Hermione.

"Nothing," answered Hermione almost a little too quickly, "I guess I just zoned out a bit…"

"Okay..."

"I have to go study some more. See you guys later!"

Hermione stood up from her slightly damped seat and walked out the Great Hall's entrance, taking the usual route to the classroom that she and Draco would always meet.

Minutes later, Draco entered the room. Hermione didn't seem to notice, as she had her back turned towards him, deep in thought. Draco silently tip-toed up to her and grabbed her by the waist, kissing her on the cheek softly. His problems just seemed to go away when he was with her… it was like he was in a separate world, just him and Hermione. No secrets, no danger... just him and Hermione.

Hermione smiled lightly at him, sharing the thought silently.

"How did you get wet?" Draco asked, letting her go to allow Hermione to face him properly.

Hermione seethed at the thought.

"Peeves," she said through gritted teeth, "that damned Poltergeist."

Draco instantly understood. "I'm sorry about how the people in my house treated you…"

"It's alright. I don't expect anything less from them," Hermione sighed. People in the Slytherin house, especially Parkinson, had taunted her all these years… just for being a… _Mudblood_.

"Don't let what they say get to you," Draco added kindly.

Hermione eyes went soft, and she smiled. "I'll try," she said.

Harry couldn't take it anymore. The suspicion inside him was too much for him to bear.

"I don't think that Hermione actually went to go study," stated Harry, looking seriously at Ron.

"Where do you think she went off to, then?" asked Ron.

"Somewhere. I don't know where, but somewhere other than the Gryffindor Common Room or the library."

"Do you want to go search?"

"Yes. What if Hermione gets into trouble? She'll never let us hear the end of it," Harry sighed, remembering the moment in their first year when Hermione got her first detention.

"Alright then. I'll take the left corridors, and you take the right…"

And so they did what they said. Harry and Ron both got up from their seat and walked out of the Great Hall. There, they broke up into two, Harry going to the right side, and Ron going to the left.

Ron looked through the first classroom – nothing. The next four classrooms didn't have anything in them except for desks and chairs, used quills, spilled ink, or just paper thrown around.

Ron opened the sixth classroom, and his mouth was agape with horror.

There Hermione was, snogging the face off of that twitchy ferret, Malfoy.


	5. Quick Update! Author's Note

Hey, guys! I'm sorry I haven't updated A Fiery Touch in a long time, I've just been really busy... but be patient! I've started school already, and it's my last year at this school, so things are pretty hectic. But, since I'm barely starting this year, I won't have as much homework this week. Be ready for another chapter by this weekend! Sorry for making you guys wait so long, especially on a cliffhanger!

By the way, thank you to to everyone who has been reading and following this story, and thank you for the review!


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